St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584) was the cardinal archbishop of Milan who did more than almost anyone to put the reforms of the Council of Trent into practice. A nephew of Pope Pius IV, he could have lived as a wealthy Renaissance prince of the Church. Instead he lived poorly, visited every corner of his huge diocese, founded seminaries and schools of Christian doctrine, and stayed with his people through the plague of 1576. His feast is November 4, which in 2026 falls on a Wednesday. Below are his life, the prayer of his feast and a prayer to St. Charles.
Who was St. Charles Borromeo?
- Born October 2, 1538, in the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, northern Italy, to Count Giberto Borromeo and Margherita de’ Medici. He received the clerical tonsure at twelve and studied law at the University of Pavia.
- A cardinal at twenty-one. In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV. Early in 1560 he called Charles to Rome, made him a cardinal and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan, and entrusted him with the work of the papal Secretary of State.
- The Council of Trent. From Rome, Charles worked tirelessly to reconvene the Council and bring it to a close (1562–1563), and then helped prepare its Roman Catechism and the revision of the Missal and Breviary.
- Priest and bishop. After the sudden death of his older brother, his family urged him to marry and carry on the line. Instead he was secretly ordained a priest in 1563 and consecrated bishop the same year.
- Archbishop in Milan. In 1565 he entered Milan, its first resident archbishop in eighty years. He held synods, visited even remote mountain parishes on foot, reformed the clergy and religious houses, and founded the Oblates of St. Ambrose.
- Seminaries and catechism. Following Trent’s decree, he founded seminaries to train priests; his seminary in Milan opened on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours. He organized the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine so that every child would be taught the faith, the beginning of the modern Sunday school and parish religious education.
- An attempt on his life. His reforms made enemies. In 1569 a member of the Humiliati, a religious order he was reforming, fired a gun at him as he knelt at evening prayer in his chapel. The ball struck him but did not even pierce his clothes, and Charles signaled for the prayers to continue.
- The plague of 1576. When plague struck Milan, many officials fled. Charles made his will, stayed in the city, visited the sick in their homes and the plague hospital, sold his furnishings to feed the poor, and led barefoot penitential processions with a rope around his neck. The epidemic is still called “the plague of St. Charles.”
- Death. Worn out at forty-six, he died in Milan on November 3, 1584. Pope Paul V canonized him on November 1, 1610, and fixed his feast on November 4.
His emblem is a single word from his family’s coat of arms, crowned: HUMILITAS, humility.
The prayer of his feast
The Collect for St. Charles in the traditional Roman Missal:
Keep thy Church, O Lord, under the unfailing protection of thy holy Confessor and Bishop Charles, and as his shepherdlike vigilance has exalted him in glory, so may his intercession make us always fervent in thy love. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.
A prayer to St. Charles Borromeo
Written for this page:
Saint Charles Borromeo, faithful shepherd,
you gave up wealth and comfort to serve the Church,
and you stayed with your people when the plague came.
Pray for our bishops and priests, that they may be holy and fearless pastors.
Pray for seminarians and for all who teach the faith to children,
and help me to love the Church as you did, with humility and courage.
Saint Charles, pray for us. Amen.
What is St. Charles Borromeo the patron saint of?
- Seminarians and seminaries, because he founded some of the first seminaries after the Council of Trent. Many seminaries are named for him, among them St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.
- Catechists and catechumens, for his schools of Christian doctrine.
- Bishops and pastors, as a model of a reforming, resident shepherd.
- He is also held up as a model for pastors in times of epidemic, recalling his care for the sick in the plague of 1576.
Pray for seminarians with our prayer for vocations and prayer for priests.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of St. Charles Borromeo?
November 4, an obligatory memorial in the Roman calendar. He died on November 3, 1584, and Pope Paul V fixed his feast on November 4 when he canonized him in 1610.
Why is St. Charles Borromeo important?
He showed how the decrees of the Council of Trent could renew a diocese: well-trained priests, regular visits by the bishop, catechism for children and care for the poor. Bishops across the Catholic world took his Milan as their model.
What does “Humilitas” mean?
“Humility” in Latin. The word appears, crowned, on the Borromeo coat of arms and became his personal motto.
Was St. Charles Borromeo a cardinal?
Yes. He was made a cardinal in 1560, at twenty-one, before he was a priest. He later became a priest and archbishop of Milan.
More saints and prayers
- Saint of the day
- St. Ambrose, his predecessor as bishop of Milan
- Prayer for priests
- Prayer for vocations
- Prayer for the Church
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Collect: The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916 daily missal), November 4, public domain (archive.org). OCR errors corrected.
- “St. Charles Borromeo,” Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3 (1908), Wikisource.